Location: Fully remote, UK wide (company events in Cheshire)

This is not one of those roles where you inherit a dusty codebase and a twelve month backlog of bug tickets. It’s a genuinely novel piece of engineering in one of the most consequential sectors in the country, and our client is after a proper seasoned firmware engineer to take the technical lead on the device side.

The opportunity

Our client builds intelligent connected hardware for the energy sector: devices at the very edge of the grid that talk to all manner of third party equipment over multiple radios and wired protocols, reporting securely back to the cloud. The engineering team is deliberately small and exceptionally senior, and they’ve invested heavily in AI driven development pipelines to accelerate the build. They don’t want an army; they want a handful of very capable engineers who can steer those tools intelligently and bring the deep hardware understanding no model can replace.

The technology

• ESP32 handling comms: WiFi and BLE now, Thread next, multi radio beyond that
• Multiple RP2040 class microcontrollers running the bulk of the application firmware
• A dedicated processor acting as security firewall and orchestrator
• STM32 class parts, FreeRTOS, embedded C with some C++
• SPI and UART between processors, MQTT with mutual TLS to the cloud, Modbus to third party kit
• A substantial codebase, already around 300,000 lines

The role

You’ll lead the build out of the device firmware, taking ownership of the meaty, low level problems that sort the seasoned from the merely enthusiastic: SPI bus behaviour, timing across processors, tight memory footprints, radio coexistence and field reliability. You’ll set standards, mentor the wider team and have a real say in where the platform goes next.

What you’ll bring

• Strong embedded C on resource constrained microcontrollers
• FreeRTOS or comparable RTOS experience
• Real depth in hardware facing debugging with scopes and logic analysers
• Wireless connected device experience; ESP32, BLE, WiFi or Thread
• MQTT, TLS and secure device to cloud communication
• An open mind towards AI assisted development
• Smart energy, metering, IoT gateway or EV charging background would be a bonus

Where and how

Fully remote, work from anywhere in the UK. The team meets periodically in Cheshire for company events and the odd bit of lab work.

The package

£80,000 to £85,000 basic plus genuine equity, coming in at a point where your contribution properly shapes the product.

Roles combining novel architecture, real ownership, top end pay, equity and full remote working don’t hang about. If tracking down an intermittent bus fault gives you a quiet thrill, I’d very much like to hear from you.

Contact Andrew Knight or Laurence Powell at KO2 Embedded Recruitment Solutions today to apply.

The post Senior Embedded Firmware Engineer appeared first on KO2 Recruitment.

Location: Oldham
Salary: Up to £55,000 + Benefits

We’re looking for an experienced Senior Electronics Technician to join our clients engineering team in Oldham. You’ll diagnose, repair and overhaul a wide range of electronic PCBs and assemblies to component level, making sure every repair meets high standards of quality and traceability.

Each unit that comes in is different, so the work is varied and technically demanding. You’ll work closely with the wider engineering and operations teams, and help train and mentor new and junior engineers.

Key responsibilities

• Diagnose and repair faults on electronic PCBs and assemblies to component level, including analogue, digital, RF and high-voltage circuits
• Find faults using test equipment such as oscilloscopes, multimeters, logic probes, logic analysers, and network and spectrum analysers
• Replace and rework surface mount and through-hole components to IPC-A-610 standard
• Commission repaired and new PCBAs
• Carry out in-circuit and boundary-scan testing using tools such as XJTAG
• Design and build in-house test equipment and fixtures to improve diagnostic capability
• Make sure repairs meet company and customer standards for quality and traceability
• Carry out functional, environmental and acceptance testing on completed repairs
• Work with the wider engineering and operations teams

Technical skills profile

• Proven experience of fault-finding and repair to component level
• Strong soldering and rework skills, including SMD, to IPC-A-610 standard
• Ability to read circuit diagrams, schematics, datasheets and technical documentation
• Confident with oscilloscopes, multimeters, logic probes and analysers, and RF test equipment
• Experience with boundary-scan and in-circuit testing (XJTAG or similar)
• Microcontroller programming (e.g. Atmel or Arduino), and FPGA programming with a working knowledge of Verilog
• Schematic capture and PCB layout in KiCad or similar
• Circuit simulation in LTspice or similar
• Serial communications (RS232 and RS485) for interfacing and diagnostics
• Environmental testing, including temperature, humidity, vibration and EMI

What They offer

• Salary of up to £55,000
• 24 days’ holiday plus bank holidays
• Pension scheme
• Flexible working, including compressed hours so you can take one Friday a month off as time in lieu
• A wide variety of challenging and interesting repairs
• Career development in a growing company

How to apply

Send your up-to-date CV and a short cover letter outlining your repair and fault-finding experience today and a member of the KO2 team will be in touch.

The post Electronic Technician appeared first on KO2 Recruitment.

Dukinfield, Manchester

£45,000 to £50,000 | 3 days on site, 2 days remote | Research & Development

KO2s client are an internal start-up division of an exceptionally well-established and financially robust manufacturing organisation, one that has consistently demonstrated strong profitability and substantial reserves. Their mission is delivering a genuinely innovative commercial electronics solution designed specifically for the burgeoning home electronics market. What makes this particularly compelling is their capacity to dramatically reduce both the development lead time and time-to-market for businesses producing consumer electronics devices.

The Role

As Electronics Engineer, you’ll be fundamentally responsible for designing and developing cutting-edge integrated electronics solutions that will be integrated into our product offerings as part of a collaborative project team. You’ll be involved throughout the entire product lifecycle, from initial research and feasibility investigations right through to preparing designs for manufacture. This isn’t merely about pushing buttons and looking busy; it demands genuine technical competency.

What You’ll Do

You’ll take ownership of analogue and digital electronics design work, investigate emerging electronics technologies, and participate in feasibility studies focused on novel product realisation. You’ll produce thoroughly documented designs, liaise with other departments to optimise manufacturability, and ensure adherence to relevant standards and legislation including ISO 9001. Crucially, you’ll support designs through their full product lifecycle and manage the broader electronics design activities including PCB layout, prototyping, testing and stakeholder management.

What We’re Looking For

You’ll possess a degree-level qualification in Electronics Engineering or equivalent, with at least five years’ experience in genuine electronics design roles. We absolutely require strong capabilities in both analogue and digital electronics, with solid experience using Altium Designer. You must be comfortable with PCB layout, embedded software development, and C/C++ programming. Knowledge of ARM Cortex-M microprocessors, serial communication interfaces, and EMC compliance is essential. Design for manufacture and low-power battery product experience is highly desirable.

You’re analytically sharp, exceptionally organised, and capable of managing your own time effectively within project parameters. You communicate brilliantly with both technical and non-technical colleagues, work collaboratively, and take genuine responsibility for your work. Attention to detail isn’t negotiable.

The Package

We offer genuine flexibility around personal circumstances such as childcare responsibilities, with flexibility to make up hours. You’ll be joining a team that values competence, technical excellence, and pragmatic problem-solving.

Interested? Get in touch.

The post Electronic Engineer appeared first on KO2 Recruitment.

KO2’s client is an international, cutting-edge software engineering consultancy. They provide innovative solutions to some of the world’s most challenging system engineering challenges, across a range of industry sectors including Automotive, IoT, Meditech, Finance and Industrial Automation. With their office based in Central Manchester, just a short walk from Manchester Piccadilly station they are easily commutable by public transport from large parts of the Northwest region.

They are looking for software infrastructure engineer whose focus will be designing and delivering the infrastructure that enables them to deliver their technology stacks to customers.

Your key responsibilities:

• Support and enable the software engineering teams through delivery of scalable and distributed infrastructure able to be run in cloud and in on-prem contexts.
• Provide input to and evaluation of infrastructure technology choices.
• Be part of and/or support the infrastructure teams to deliver and operate solutions to customers in highly regulated environments.
• Mentoring software infrastructure engineers and helping to curate internal training and development programmes.

We are looking for candidates with the following experience:

• Strong Linux and Git skills
• Proven production experience deploying and managing infrastructure on at least one major Cloud Service provider, using tooling such as Terraform.
• Hands-on production experience developing, deploying, and operating Kubernetes clusters; experience running this on OpenStack is an advantage.
• Confident provisioning and deploying to bare-metal instances using tooling such as Ansible.
• Solid operational expertise in managing production environments, with knowledge of methodologies such as SRE considered a plus.
• A genuine interest in, and ideally hands-on involvement with, FOSS (Free and Open Source Software) communities and/or projects.

Apply today for this exciting, new opportunity within Software Infrastructure.

The post Software Infrastructure Engineer appeared first on KO2 Recruitment.

KO2 is recruiting a Software Test Engineer (V&V) on behalf of a fast-growing medical device client based in Manchester, currently progressing a market ready device through FDA 510(k) approval. Following a recent increase in testing and documentation requirements, they need an experienced V&V engineer to take full ownership of test activity as the sole test resource on site.

This is a hands-on, standalone role. You’ll be working directly with the device hardware, so onsite presence three days a week is essential.

Key responsibilities

• Develop verification and validation test specifications from the device’s design history file, requirements and specifications
• Break high-level design/test requirements down into detailed sub-tests, test protocols and expected outcomes
• Execute and record verification/validation testing in line with relevant standards and processes
• Feed results back to the development team and support resolution of any non-conformances
• Design software test plans in compliance with IEC 62304 and FDA documentation standards
• Instrument and execute unit, module, integration and regression tests based on software design specifications
• Work closely with Quality and Regulatory colleagues to ensure testing supports the technical file

Essential skills & experience

• Strong experience of V&V activities within an embedded software environment
• Embedded software development background using C/C++, sufficient to understand and define module level tests
• Experience converting requirements into structured test cases and procedures
• Experience working with medical devices running embedded software
• Working knowledge of IEC 62304 and ISO 13485
• Good understanding of the full software engineering lifecycle
• Scripting ability
• Able to work independently and self-manage a standalone testing function

Desirable

• Knowledge of IEC 60601 and/or ISO 14971

Contract details

• 6 month initial contract, with potential to extend
• 3 days per week onsite in Manchester
• Up to £425 per day, Outside IR35

Get in touch with Chris Oddy at KO2 to discuss or apply.

The post Software Test Engineer – Medical Devices (Contract) appeared first on KO2 Recruitment.

£50,000 to £60,000

How do you know the products you use are safe? In most cases, the answer is product compliance. In hazardous industries such as oil and gas, chemical and pharmaceutical, it is compliance engineers who make sure electronic equipment can operate in explosive atmospheres without becoming the ignition source. This role puts you at the centre of that work.

KO2’s client is a long-established, global manufacturer of electronic products used in hazardous area and process industry applications worldwide. Their UK R&D centre designs intrinsically safe equipment, devices that limit electrical energy entering Zone 0, 1 and 2 environments so that a fault can never release enough energy to cause an explosion.

The opportunity to step up

This is a succession role. The company’s current compliance engineer, a highly respected specialist, retires at the end of next year, and the business wants their successor in place well ahead of that. Depending on your start date, you could have a year or more working directly alongside them, learning the products, the standards landscape and the relationships with certifying bodies before taking full ownership of the role.

That makes this a genuine opportunity for someone to step up. You do not need to be the finished article. The client will consider engineers earlier in their compliance career, or engineers from design, test or EMC backgrounds who have worked with standards and want to specialise, provided you have a real aptitude for reading and interpreting them. You will not be isolated either. You will sit within the R&D team, work closely with a counterpart compliance engineer in Europe, and be part of an international network of standards experts across the wider group.

What you will be doing

• Implementing and organising Ex approvals such as ATEX and IECEx, alongside electrical safety standards
• Determining which standards and legal requirements apply to new and existing products
• Reviewing electrical schematics and R&D designs against the relevant standards, and guiding design engineers on compliance from the start of a project
• Producing critical safety documentation to certification standard
• Reviewing existing products against current international approvals and initiating updates where needed
• Selecting, managing and negotiating with external certifying bodies and inspection organisations, both in the UK and internationally

There is no customer site travel in this role. Beyond occasional short-term international trips, including standards expert meetings held every couple of years, you will be based at the R&D centre and at home.

What you will need

• A degree in engineering, physics or another analytical subject
• A sound grasp of electronics fundamentals, for example how transistors and Zener diodes behave in a circuit
• Genuine interest in reading, interpreting and debating standards, this is the heart of the role
• Strong attention to detail and a structured, well-documented way of working
• The confidence to negotiate and hold your ground with certification bodies and senior engineers

Experience with ATEX, IECEx, LVD, EMC or UKCA is valuable but not essential. Attitude and aptitude matter more than a perfect CV match.

Why this role

Compliance sign-off carries real seniority here. Nothing ships without it, and the role is respected accordingly across R&D and the wider business. You will become the UK authority on hazardous area compliance for a profitable, stable, global manufacturer, with a long structured handover from the person who currently holds that position.

To apply or for a confidential conversation about the role, contact KO2 Embedded Recruitment Solutions.

The post Product Compliance Engineer appeared first on KO2 Recruitment.

Salary up to £50,000 DOE

KO2 is working with an exciting medtech startup based in Manchester, who are now on the lookout for an Embedded Software Engineer to join their growing team. This is a fantastic opportunity to join a dynamic business at a pivotal moment in its growth, working on prototype medical devices that have the potential to make a real impact in the medical technology landscape.

This is a chance to join a startup at a pivotal stage of growth, working on technology that could genuinely change lives. If you’re driven by innovation, enjoy working hands-on across software and hardware, and want to make a tangible impact in medtech — this is the role for you.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain STM32-based control software and firmware drivers
• System integration and integration testing to ensure interoperability between STM32-based hardware and control software
• Develop and maintain a secondary software module based on ESP32 running FreeRTOS
• Electronics fault-finding on the existing STM32-based electronics platform
• Carry out minor updates to the existing electronics platform as identified during fault-finding
• Conduct unit testing, participate in code reviews, and support the software validation process
• Adhere to the company’s software development lifecycle processes
• Collaborate with a cross-functional team to create and build prototype medical devices

What You’ll Need

• Strong experience developing embedded software using C and C++
• Familiarity with STM32 and ESP32 microprocessors
• Experience with FreeRTOS
• Familiarity with schematic design and PCB layout software (e.g. Altium, KiCad, Eagle)
• Experience with electronics fault-finding on multi-board controller systems
• Hands-on experience performing PCB schematic modifications, updates, and fixes
• Strong written communication skills

Nice to Have

• Previous experience on medical device projects
• A relevant degree in Electronic Engineering or Software Engineering
• Experience working within a QMS environment, and/or exposure to regulatory standards such as ISO 62304 and ISO 60601

For more information or to apply, get in touch with KO2 Embedded Recruitment Solutions.

The post Embedded Engineer appeared first on KO2 Recruitment.

Location: Manchester + Hybrid Working From Home
Salary: Up to £57,000 DOE + Benefits

KO2’s client is seeking a Software Engineer to join their established engineering team based in Manchester. This is an excellent opportunity for a software developer who enjoys solving technical challenges, working within a collaborative environment, and continuously developing their skills.

The role is particularly suited to engineers who have experience developing software for real-world products, embedded systems, or environments where performance, efficiency, and resource management are important considerations.

KO2’s client has a proven track record of supporting engineers from a range of technical backgrounds and helping them develop new skills whilst working on innovative products.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, develop, test, and maintain high-quality software solutions.
• Develop software that forms part of real-world products and systems.
• Collaborate with engineers and stakeholders to deliver reliable and efficient solutions.
• Participate in code reviews and contribute to software architecture and design discussions.
• Investigate, troubleshoot, and resolve technical issues.
• Support continuous improvement of development processes and engineering best practices.

What KO2’s Client Is Looking For

Essential

• Commercial experience in object-oriented software development.
• Strong understanding of software engineering principles and development practices.
• Experience with programming language such as C#, C, C++
• Microsoft Visual Studio & git version control.
• Experience working on software that interacts with hardware, physical products, industrial systems, or embedded platforms, or a genuine interest in moving into this type of environment.
• Understanding of performance optimisation, efficient memory usage, or development within resource-constrained environments.
• Excellent problem-solving and analytical skills.
• Strong communication skills and the ability to work effectively within a team.

Desirable

• Experience with embedded software development.
• Experience working within memory-constrained or performance-critical systems.
• Experience with C# and .NET technologies.
• Fieldbus, industrial Ethernet protocols, MQTT
• Knowledge of modern software development methodologies.
• Exposure to electronics, industrial automation, instrumentation, IoT, or other product-development environments.

The Person

KO2’s client values attitude, curiosity, and a willingness to learn just as highly as technical capability. They are open to candidates from a variety of backgrounds, including embedded systems, industrial software, games development, and other engineering disciplines.

The ideal candidate will enjoy understanding how software interacts with real products and systems and will be motivated by solving complex technical problems. They will be someone who embraces learning opportunities and can grow within a supportive engineering team.

What’s On Offer

• Hybrid working, combining home working with time in the Manchester office.
• A supportive and collaborative engineering environment.
• Exposure to technically challenging projects and real-world products.
• Competitive salary and benefits package.
• Ongoing mentoring and professional development opportunities.
• Long-term career progression within a growing business.

Apply

If you’re a Software Engineer with experience of, or an interest in, embedded systems, real-world products, or resource-constrained environments, and you’re looking for a role where your potential is valued as highly as your current experience, KO2’s client would be keen to hear from you.

The post Software Engineer – C++, C and/or C# appeared first on KO2 Recruitment.

KO2’s client, an innovative and fast-growing technology company, is looking for an Embedded Software Engineer to join their expanding team based in Blackburn.
This is a fantastic opportunity for an engineer with 3+ years commercial embedded software experience who is keen to work on cutting-edge products and contribute to the development of new technologies and integrations.

Key Responsibilities:
• Embedded software development using C
• Working with TI MSP430 and STM32 microcontrollers
• Bare-metal embedded programming
• Enhancing and maintaining existing codebases
• Adding new features and improving system functionality
• Collaborating closely with hardware engineers and understanding hardware design considerations

The successful candidate will play a key role in enhancing and maintaining the existing embedded software codebase, while also contributing to the development of new features and functionality across a growing product range. You’ll also gain exposure to a proprietary wireless communication protocol, making adaptability and a willingness to learn essential for success in the role.

With a strong focus on rapid product development, the company consistently brings new products to market, offering engineers the chance to work on varied and technically challenging projects in a fast-paced environment.

This is an excellent opportunity to join a dynamic engineering team where you’ll gain hands-on experience across the full product lifecycle while contributing to innovative embedded systems projects.

The role offers a salary of up to £45,000 alongside the opportunity to grow your career within a supportive and forward-thinking environment.
If you’re passionate about embedded technology and looking for your next challenge, KO2’s client would love to hear from you.

Apply today to take the next step in your embedded software engineering career.

The post Embedded Software Engineer appeared first on KO2 Recruitment.

Chester Area

Up to £65,000 + Bonus

KO2’s client is a well-established, employee-owned consultancy that designs bespoke embedded electronic products for a wide range of applications. With a strong reputation for delivering high-quality engineering solutions, they combine in-house product development with custom design work, giving engineers the chance to work on varied, technically challenging projects across the full lifecycle.

They are now looking for a Mid to Senior Electronics Engineer with strong embedded software experience to join their growing team.

This is a hands-on role sitting right at the hardware–software boundary. You’ll be involved in everything from schematic capture and PCB design through to board bring-up and embedded C development, working on complex embedded systems including microcontroller and application processor-based designs.

What you’ll be doing:

• Designing analogue and digital electronics, including PCB layout
• Bringing up new hardware and debugging at board level using embedded software
• Developing embedded C code to support hardware validation and functionality
• Working across the full product lifecycle, from concept through to production
• Contributing to a range of projects, including next-generation embedded and IoT-style systems

What they’re looking for:

• A well-rounded electronics engineer with solid embedded software skills
• Strong experience in analogue and digital design
• Confidence with board bring-up and debugging using embedded C
• Experience with common interfaces such as SPI, I²C, UART, CAN
• Comfortable working with microcontrollers (e.g. ARM Cortex-M) and ideally application processors
• Someone adaptable and capable of picking up new technologies (e.g. Linux, FPGA, or higher-level software where required)

Desirable experience:

• Embedded Linux or RTOS experience
• Mains-powered design / power supply experience
• Experience with single board computer or similar embedded platforms
• Exposure to production or manufacturing environments

Why join KO2’s client?

This is an opportunity to join a collaborative, engineering-led environment where you’ll work on genuinely interesting products rather than narrow, siloed tasks. Engineers here are involved in real problem-solving, not just incremental changes.

The business offers a unique and highly attractive working pattern:

• Every other Friday off
• Early finish at 1pm on the alternate Friday

They are also employee-owned, which means you benefit directly from the company’s success.

This includes:

• A profit-related bonus, with up to £3,600 per year tax-free
• The opportunity to receive free shares and purchase additional shares in the business

Additional benefits include:

• Private medical insurance
• Competitive holiday allowance, increasing with service
• A supportive, non-corporate culture focused on quality engineering rather than long hours

This role is based on-site, reflecting the hands-on nature of the work, particularly around hardware development and lab-based testing.

If you’re an engineer who enjoys working across both electronics and embedded software, and you want to be part of a business where your work genuinely makes an impact, this is well worth exploring.

The post Electronics Engineer appeared first on KO2 Recruitment.